http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
IT'S back to the dictionary for the first time since the Clinton years in order to define words in the
American statement to China which was the key to the release of the 24 American detainees, or
hostages, depending on one's perspective.

Among the meanings of "sorrow'' is this: "Sorrow implies a sense of loss or a sense of guilt or
remorse.''

"Regret,'' another word that has appeared in most U.S. statements since the April 1 emergency
landing of the American surveillance plane in China, is defined as "sorrow aroused by circumstances
beyond one's control or power to repair.'' No wonder the Chinese accepted "very sorry'' over
"regret.''

Part of this is the importance Asian culture places on a demonstration of contrition. But the larger part
is that the communist government managed to extract the maximum propaganda and humiliation
benefits from the face-off with the United States. It retains bragging rights in Asia that, once again, a
large rat scared the world's biggest elephant.

President Bush was cool in the midst of pressure to "do something.'' Members of Congress, who have
been out of town during the incident and unable to posture as much as they like to, and some
commentators were urging a stronger response to China's actions.

One lesson for the United States is that while the Cold War with the Soviet Union may be over,
communism in China and elsewhere (Moldova in Eastern Europe recently elected a communist as
president) survives. Communism still regards human beings as dispensable and disposable if they
interfere with the authority and policies of the ruling elite. Communism sees individual liberty and
religious freedom as the biggest threats of all and represses such yearnings with considerable state
power.

U.S. and Chinese representatives will conduct a postmortem on the incident at an April 18 meeting.
U.S. officials have said they have no intention of suspending surveillance flights over international
waters. They should not, but rules of engagement, which are understood by most nations, ought to be
reiterated to the Chinese. China deserves no special consideration or extra territorial claims of
sovereignty.

Another lesson for the United States is that trade alone is not going to convert China to our values.
China remains a nation that wishes America ill and doesn't mind putting its military might where its
mouth is.

In their book, "The Coming Conflict With China'' (Alfred Knopf, 1997), Richard Bernstein, former
New York Times bureau chief in Beijing, and Ross Munro, former Time magazine bureau chief in
Hong Kong, write, "The important thing here is that Beijing's rulers will risk war with America not
because it is in their country's interest but because it is in the interest of the governing clique...China
during the past decade or so has set goals for itself that are directly contrary to American interests,
the most important of those goals being to replace the United States as the preeminent power in Asia,
to reduce American influence, to prevent Japan and the United States from creating a kind of 'contain
China' front, and to extend its power into the South China and East China Seas so that it controls the
region's essential sea-lanes.''

In pulling America's chain, China is mindful of a principle articulated by Mao Tse-tung, who said, "The
mind of the enemy and the will of his leaders is a target of far more importance than the bodies of his
troops.''

China probably thinks it has diagnosed a softness in America's leaders, starting with Bill Clinton. It's
important for the Bush administration to now act in specific and observable ways that will send a
different message to Beijing. One way would be to immediately resume reconnaissance flights, and
this time, as we did in a nearly five-decade dance with the Soviet Union, protect the pilots with a show
of air and sea power. That will project a more powerful image than diplomatic language about sorrow
and
regret.